2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico

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All 3 New Mexico seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 2 1 Seats won 2 1 Seat change Popular vote 422,189 343,269 Percentage 55.11% 44.81% Swing 3.53% 3.61%
District results County results Democratic   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, and elected the three U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with those for other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election, and a U.S. Senate election.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico, 2012 [1]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats before	Seats after	+/–
	Democratic	422,189	55.11%	2	2	-
	Republican	343,269	44.81%	1	1	-
	Independent (Write-in)	173	0.02%			-
	Green Party (Write-in)	459	0.06%			-
Totals		766,090	100%	3	3	-

District 1

See also: New Mexico's 1st congressional district

The redrawn 1st district serves the central area of New Mexico, including almost three-fourths of Albuquerque. Incumbent Democrat Martin Heinrich, first elected in 2008, did not seek reelection, but instead ran for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Bingaman. ^[2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Michelle Lujan Grisham, Bernalillo County commissioner and candidate for this seat in 2008 ^[3]

Eliminated in primary

• Marty Chávez, former Albuquerque mayor ^[4]
• Eric Griego, state senator ^[5]

Declined

• Hector Balderas, state auditor ^[6]
• Terry Brunner, head of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in New Mexico and Jeff Bingaman’s former state director ^[7]
• Diane Denish, former lieutenant governor and nominee for governor in 2010 ^[8]
• Martin Heinrich, incumbent U.S. representative
• Timothy M. Keller, state senator ^[7]
• James B. Lewis, state treasurer
• Moe Maestas, state representative ^[9]
• Stuart Paisano, former governor of Sandia Pueblo ^[4]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michelle Lujan Grisham	19,111	40.1
	Democratic	Eric Griego	16,702	35.0
	Democratic	Martin Chávez	11,895	24.9
Total votes			47,708	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Janice Arnold-Jones, former state representative ^{[10] [11]}

Withdrawn

• Dan Lewis, Albuquerque City Councilmember ^[12]

Disqualified

• Gary Smith, Army veteran ^{[11] [13] [14]}

Declined

• Jon Barela, businessman and nominee for this seat in 2010 ^[15]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Janice Arnold-Jones	26,198	100.0
Total votes			26,198	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Michelle Lujan Grisham (D)

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program ^[16]
• EMILY's List ^[17]

Janice Arnold-Jones (R)

Organizations

• Maggie's List ^[18]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Michelle Lujan Grisham (D)	Janice Arnold-Jones (R)	Undecided
Research & Polling Inc [19]	October 23–25, 2012	401	± 4.9%	51%	36%	13%
Research & Polling Inc [20]	October 9–11, 2012	402	± 4.9%	51%	37%	12%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (D-Lujan Grisham) [21]	October 8–9, 2012	407	± 5.0%	55%	40%	5%
Research & Polling Inc [22]	September 3–6, 2012	409	± 4.8%	46%	34%	20%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (D-Lujan Grisham) [23]	July 10–15, 2012	502	± 4.0%	50%	42%	8%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [24]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [25]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [26]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [27]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times [28]	Lean D	November 4, 2012
RCP [29]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
The Hill [30]	Likely D	November 4, 2012

Results

New Mexico's 1st congressional district, 2012 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michelle Lujan Grisham	162,924	59.1
	Republican	Janice Arnold-Jones	112,472	40.8
	Green	Jeanne Pahls (write-in)	459	0.2
Total votes			275,855	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 2

See also: New Mexico's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Steve Pearce was elected in 2010, having previously served from 2003 until 2009. Pearce sought reelection in 2012. ^[31]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Steve Pearce, incumbent U.S. representative

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Pearce (incumbent)	29,911	100.0
Total votes			29,911	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Evelyn Madrid Erhard, former teacher at New Mexico State University ^{[32] [33]}

Withdrawn

• Martin Resendiz, mayor of Sunland Park ^[34]

Disqualified

• Frank McKinnon, businessman and candidate for this seat in 2008 ^{[35] [33]}

Declined

• Nate Cote, state representative ^[36]
• Edgar Lopez, head of a real estate company ^[37]
• Harry Teague, former U.S. representative ^[38]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Evelyn Madrid Erhard	24,175	100.0
Total votes			24,175	100.0

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Steve Pearce (R)	Evelyn Madrid Erhard (D)	Undecided
Research & Polling Inc [19]	October 23–25, 2012	113	± 9.2%	56%	38%	6%
Research & Polling Inc [20]	October 9–11, 2012	116	± 9.1%	55%	31%	15%
Research & Polling Inc [22]	September 3–6, 2012	119	± 9.0%	56%	30%	14%

Results

New Mexico's 2nd congressional district, 2012 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Pearce (incumbent)	133,180	59.0
	Democratic	Evelyn Madrid Erhard	92,162	40.9
	Independent	Jack A. McGrann (write-In)	173	0.1
Total votes			225,515	100.0
	Republican hold

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Safe R	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [25]	Safe R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [26]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [27]	Safe R	November 5, 2012
NY Times [28]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
RCP [29]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
The Hill [30]	Safe R	November 4, 2012

District 3

See also: New Mexico's 3rd congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Ben Ray Luján was first elected in 2008. In April 2011 Luján declined to enter the U.S. Senate race and instead chose to seek reelection to the House of Representatives. ^[39]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ben Ray Luján, incumbent U.S. representative

Declined

• Sean Closson, artist and hotel worker ^[40]
• Harry Montoya, Santa Fe County executive ^[41]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben R. Luján (incumbent)	53,908	100.0
Total votes			53,908	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jefferson Byrd, rancher ^[42]

Eliminated in primary

• Rick Newton, businessman ^{[43] [44]}

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jefferson L. Byrd	13,055	53.5
	Republican	Frederick L. Newton	11,340	46.5
Total votes			24,395	100.0

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ben Ray Luján (D)	Jefferson Byrd (R)	Undecided
Research & Polling Inc [19]	October 23–25, 2012	148	± 8.0%	53%	35%	12%
Research & Polling Inc [20]	October 9–11, 2012	140	± 8.3%	58%	34%	8%
Research & Polling Inc [22]	September 3–6, 2012	139	± 8.3%	57%	31%	12%

Results

New Mexico's 3rd congressional district, 2012 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Ray Luján (incumbent)	167,103	63.1
	Republican	Jefferson Byrd	97,616	36.9
Total votes			264,719	100.0
	Democratic hold

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [45]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [25]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [26]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [27]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times [28]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
RCP [29]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
The Hill [30]	Safe D	November 4, 2012

References

1. "Statewide Results" (PDF). New Mexico Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2013.
2. Blake, Aaron (April 2, 2011). "Heinrich to run for Senate in New Mexico". The Washington Post . Retrieved April 20, 2011.
3. "Lujan Grisham wins hotly contested CD-1 primary". KOAT-TV . June 6, 2012. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
4. Trygstad, Kyle (June 29, 2011). "Ex-Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez Running in 1st District". Roll Call . Retrieved June 29, 2011.
5. Miller, Sean J. (May 2, 2011). "Field grows in race for Heinrich's NM House seat". The Hill . Retrieved May 4, 2011.
6. Reichbach, Matthew (April 13, 2011). "Balderas won't seek Heinrich's seat". The New Mexico Independent . Retrieved April 20, 2011.
7. Haussamen, Heath (April 19, 2011). "Keller won't run for Congress". NMPolitics.net. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
8. Haussamen, Heath (June 29, 2011). "Chávez is running for Congress; Denish isn't". NMPolitics.net. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
9. "No Moe in US House race". Capitol Report New Mexico. June 8, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
10. Flores, Danielle (July 16, 2011). "Second Republican enters Congressional race". KOB . Retrieved July 18, 2011.
11. Reichbach, Matthew (March 20, 2012). "Dan Lewis drops out of congressional race". New Mexico Telegram. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
12. Haussamen, Heath (April 4, 2011). "Lewis formally enters congressional race". NMPolitics.net. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
13. Trygstad, Kyle (November 3, 2011). "Sierra Club Backs Eric Griego in New Mexico Primary". Roll Call . Retrieved November 7, 2011.
14. Reichbach, Matthew (April 16, 2012). "CD1: District court judge takes Smith off GOP primary ballot". New Mexico Telegram. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
15. Haussamen, Heath (January 21, 2012). "Barela won't run for CD1 seat". NMPolitics.net. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
16. "RED TO BLUE 2012". DCCC. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
17. "Help Our Candidates Win!". emilyslist.org. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
18. "Maggie's List is pleased to endorse these conservative women candidates". maggieslist.org. Maggie's List. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
19. Research & Polling Inc
20. Research & Polling Inc
21. Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (D-Lujan Grisham)
22. Research & Polling Inc
23. Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (D-Lujan Grisham)
24. "The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races". Cookpolitical.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
25. "House Ratings". Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com. November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
26. , as of November 4,2012 [update]
27. Crystal Ball, as of November 5,2012 ^[update]
28. House Race Ratings, The New York Times, as of November 4,2012 ^[update]
29. , as of November 4,2012 [update]
30. "House Ratings". The Hill. November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
31. "Pearce re-election committee has balance of $682K". Las Cruces Sun-News . April 17, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
32. "Mesilla Democrat Seeks 2nd Congressional District Seat". Las Cruces Sun-News . Albuquerque Journal. December 1, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
33. Reichbach, Matthew (March 10, 2012). "Heinrich, Griego win pre-primaries, Balderas with a strong showing". New Mexico Telegram. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
34. "Sunland Park mayor won't run for Congress". Alamogordo Daily News . Associated Press. October 7, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
35. "Democratic longshot takes on Steve Pearce". Capitol Report New Mexico. November 5, 2011. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
36. Haussamen, Heath (June 29, 2011). "Congressional run isn't likely, Cote says". NMPolitics.net. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
37. Haussamen, Heath (May 5, 2011). "Sunland Park mayor running for Congress; Cote might too". NMPolitics.net. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
38. "Harry Teague: I won't run again". KRQE. Associated Press. January 7, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
39. Catanese, David (April 25, 2011). "Ben Ray Lujan won't run for Senate". Politico . Retrieved April 25, 2011.
40. Terrell, Steve (November 18, 2011). "Artist, hotel worker takes on Luján in Democratic primary". The Santa Fe New Mexican . Retrieved December 3, 2011.
41. Haussamen, Heath (January 20, 2012). "Montoya to challenge Luján in CD3 Dem primary". NMPolitics.net. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
42. Simonich, Milan (May 11, 2012). "Congressional candidate urges 2,000-mile barricade along US southern border". Carlsbad Current-Argus . Retrieved May 13, 2012.
43. Terrell, Steve (October 31, 2011). "Security-tech entrepreneur seeks to challenge Rep. Luján". The Santa Fe New Mexican . Retrieved November 2, 2011.
44. AP results
45. "The Cook Political Report — Charts – 2012 House Competitive Races". Cookpolitical.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.

External links

• Elections from the New Mexico Secretary of State
• United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico, 2012 at Ballotpedia
• New Mexico U.S. House at OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in New Mexico at OpenSecrets
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation